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News Release 21-030
Inv. No(s). 332-573
Contact: Peg O'Laughlin, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has released the second volume of its report on the global economic impact of pesticide maximum residue level (MRL) policies, including missing or low MRLs, for plant protection products.
The investigation, Global Economic Impact of Missing and Low Pesticide Maximum Residue Levels, was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) in a letter received on August 30, 2019.
As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, assessed the global economic impact of national policies and regulations related to pesticide MRLs. The USITC report documents the impacts of pesticide MRLs, including when they are missing or low, on farmers and exporters in countries representing a range of income classifications, including the United States.
The USTR requested that the Commission convey the report in two separate volumes. The first volume of the report was released on July 30, 2020.
The information in volume 2 of the report includes, but is not limited to:
- case studies describing the costs and effects of MRL compliance and noncompliance for U.S. producers, including effects on U.S. producers of specialty crops;
- quantitative and qualitative analysis of the global impact of MRLs, including how MRLs affects production, exports, farmer income, and prices; and
- detailed highlights of the Commission's findings can be found in the report's Executive Summary.
Global Economic Impact of Missing and Low Pesticide Maximum Residue Levels, Volume 2 (Investigation No. 332-573, USITC publication 5160, January 2021) is available on the USITC's Internet site at https://www.usitc.gov/publications/332/pub5160.pdf.
USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the USTR, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting report conveys the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requestor. General factfinding reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requestor for national security reasons.